Karnataka softens stand on Ayushman Bharat, likely to blend it with existing schemes

Siddaramaiah had decided not to adopt ModiCare and instead continue with its own healthcare schemes.

The JD(S)-Congress regime in Karnataka has softened its stand with regard to implementing the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat national health protection scheme, and will blend it with state’s own Arogya Karnataka healthcare programme. The scheme, when implemented, will provide healthcare coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per low-income family per year for secondary and tertiary care.

The scheme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Budget. It aims to cover 10 crore low-income or below poverty line (BPL) families, which translates to about 50 crore people.

Karnataka, which under the previous Congress regime headed by Siddaramaiah, had decided not to adopt ModiCare and instead continue with its own healthcare schemes, has softened its approach under the Kumaraswamy-led coalition regime. The State will go for a unified healthcare programme by clubbing a slew of its own schemes such as Yeshaswini, Vajpayee Arogyashree and CM’s Santwana Harish. “We will cobrand our schemes with that of the Centre,” health inister Shivanand Patil told ET.

Karnataka will soon sign an MoU with the Centre on adopting Ayushman Bharat. The shift in the state’s stand follows the Centre providing convincing replies to queries raised by the state on what it perceived as flaws in the Centre’s programme.

The chief minister held a meeting with heads of healthcare institutions and associations concerned to understand the pros and cons of going with Ayushman Bharat. “The next meeting of the Cabinet will take a decision on merging our own Arogya Karnataka with Ayushman Bharat,” Kumaraswamy said.

The Centre and the state will soon sign an MoU before formalising the arrangement.

All the benefits and protection offered by the Centre’s scheme will apply in the state, too, health minister said. The government will provide healthcare services to BPL cardholders at all government hospitals and 490 empanelled hospitals in the private sector once the new scheme takes effect, Patil said.

The Centre recognises only 62 lakh families in Karnataka as BPL, but the state has provided BPL benefits to 1.20 crore families. Since the Ayushman Bharat scheme covers only BPL families recognised by the Centre, the state will bear the healthcare insurance cost of the rest.